Stone Child
by The Lady Avaritia
Summary: When Vince first sees Draco when they're six, his first thought is "But… he is so skinny!" and his first idea is that he needs to protect him.


**Title:** Stone Child

**Rating: T**  
><strong>Spoilers: G<strong>eneral

**Characters**: Draco, Crabbe

**Summary: When Vince first sees Draco when they're six, his first thought is "But… he is so skinny!" and his first idea is that he needs to protect him.**

**Disclaimer: **disclaimed

**Author Note: I like underappreciated secondary characters who die in the end, and I always had a soft spot for Crabbe as Draco's friend.**

**Author: **_Lady Avaritia_

When he was younger, Crabbe didn't really have many friends his age, other than Greg, who lived on the property bordering the Crabbe estate. He rather liked Greg, and they had known each other since they were babies, due to their mothers' scheduling play-dates all the time.

In fact, it would be safe to say that Gregory Goyle was Vincent Crabbe's only friend until the age of six.

On that day, Vince was in his room drawing a picture of a castle and occasionally dipping his hand in a bowl of candies. He wanted to finish the picture for his mother and please her. Just the other day she'd told him that he was very good at drawing and smiled. Vince rarely received that sort of praise and attention from his family, so he was eager to make her happy again. He got the feeling that his mother didn't like him quite enough.

He signed the picture on its back "For Mom from Vince" and wrote the date. His tutor had told him that when he gave people signed presents, he should always sign the date, so that the person would know when they'd gotten it. He didn't think it made much sense, but Miss Cane was old and smart, so she knew better. Also, Miss Cane was very nice and she smiled a lot and he didn't want to disappoint her. She tutored both him and Greg and she seemed to like her job well enough. She didn't mind that he ate a lot and needed to be explained things sometimes a second and a third time like his previous tutors had. Yup, Miss Cane was nice.

He popped another candy in his mouth and walked towards the lavishly furnished living room where his Mom usually spend her time, reading, drawing and drinking tea.

The door to the room was closed. It usually meant that his parents were talking and didn't want to be interrupted, so Vince sat on the thickly rugged floor, and prepared to wait. He tuned his ears, and like he usually did, listened to the conversation. Since nobody ever told him anything, eavesdropping was a good way to learn stuff.

'That poor boy, did you hear?' Mom was saying, 'To suffer such a disease at such a tender age! No wonder Narcissa was in hysterics when I talked to her.'

'Yes,' his father agreed, 'it was pretty bad, from what Lucius told me. You remember, he left the ministry for six months to be at home.'

'Poor Draco. I only wish something like that never happened to our Vince! I just wouldn't take it.'

His father grunted.

'I wanted to talk to you, dear, and 'his mom continued,' Cissa flooed here this morning. It seems that ever since he recovered, Draco has been in very poor spirits, which of course, is quite understandable. She wants to know if we'd like to bring Vince over to the Manor, so Draco can have a playmate his age. She asked the Goyle too. It will be very rude to refuse.'

His dad grunted again.

'Rude,' he grumbled, 'Not to mention that they outrank us and we owe their family a debt. Fine. You go with Vince, but I'm not in the mood to see Lucius, sick son or no sick son. I can sympathize, but that's all.'

His mother sighed.

'Fine, fine.'

-x-

That's how the next weekend Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and their respective mothers found themselves at the gate of Malfoy Manor. The house was more than three times the size of Vince's own home. He looked at it in awe. It was a magnificent white marble construction, at least six stories high, and it was visible from every part of the garden. Miss Cane had explained to him that once the Malfoys were the biggest pure blood family in Britain, but during the werewolf riots in the 1600s most members had died gruesomely. The current Manor was a memento of the days when the family was so big, that they needed to built a whole new floor only for guest rooms.

As Vince stepped in the marble atrium, he couldn't help but gape at the marvelous staircase that opened up towards the next floor, and the high ceiling, painted with scenes from the family history.

'Matilda, Loretta!' a beautiful tall woman came from behind a glass panel. Again, Vince gaped. She was so pretty! She had long flowing hair the color of spun gold and soft pale skin. her eyes were a crisp blue. She was wearing a creamy pink silk dress and silver jewelry and she was smiling radiantly.

'Like a veela,' Greg whispered astonished.

Miss Cane had told them about veelas and how they were beautiful women who made men everywhere love them with just one look. Clearly Lady Malfoy heard that, because she smiled even more and her eyes sparkled.

'Oh, thank you dear, Greg, was it?'

'Yes, Lady Malfoy,' his friend replied politely.

'I am Vincent Crabbe, Lady Malfoy,' he introduced himself.

'Oh, you are such wonderful boys! I am sure my Draco will enjoy your company very much.'

Uh-huh. The question here was would they enjoy Draco's company? His mother had told him, the other day, that Draco Malfoy was the son of a very powerful man. Draco had been sick all winter and spring and he needed friends. If Vince became friends with Draco, the Crabbe family would certainly rise in society.

'_So then, dear, be friends with him. Play with him. Do what he wants, even if you don't like. The benefits will be worth it.'_

Vince did not understand the word benefits, but he promised to be nice to this "Draco" person.

They entered the living room. It was expansive and full of book shelves and lavish leather coaches. A fire burned merrily in the fireplace, even though it was summer. The glass doors were opened to the rich green gardens.

On one of the coaches sat a tall handsome man. He was nothing like Crabbe's own father. He was lean with delicate features and he had long platinum hair that brushed his shoulder. That must be Lord Malfoy.

On his knees sat a child, with his back to the entrance of the room.

'There they are, dragon,' Lord Malfoy said. 'Your new friends, Vincent and Gregory. Why don't you greet them?' he smiled tightly, but his grey eyes danced with warmth. Draco climbed off his father's lap and turned to face them.

Vince gasped out loud when he saw the boy. "But… he is so skinny!" was the large boy's first thought. Draco Malfoy was smaller than him, and so, so thin. His skin was ashen pale, and his cheeks sunken. His large blue-gray eyes, lined with long silver ashes, were surrounded by bruise-like circles. The boy wore silver silk robes, that looked as if they hung from his delicate frame. Whatever he'd been sick from, he had yet to recover fully.

'I am Draco,' he introduced himself, 'Draco Malfoy. I am very pleased to welcome you on the grounds of the Malfoy estate,' he greeted formally, and offered his hand for a handshake. Greg took it hesitantly. Clearly he was think the same as Vince – the boy had such thin bony wrists they looked like they might snap. No, scratch that, the entire boy looked like he might snap.

'I'm Greg,' his friend said.

'And I'm Vince,' Crabbe took the small hand in his and shook it, careful not to break the other boy.

'Lady Crabbe and Lady Goyle, thank you very much for bringing your children today,' Draco said very formally, then turned towards them 'Do you want to see my room?' he asked excitedly. He had a very quiet soft voice, a little raspy.

'Sure.'

'Yeah.'

On that day, in Draco's room, as Crabbe admired Draco's collection of stuffed animals, and observed the skeletal boy play exploding snap, he silently vowed to himself that he'd protect Draco forever from everything. Not because his mother told him to, but because he genuinely cared for the skinny sickly child who had, without a bat of his eyelash said that "being able to eat five servings of mashed potatoes with roast chicken and still have place for at least three pieces of chocolate cake was _so cool_". He vowed that he'd try to make this boy into his friend, and help him. Maybe he wasn't very smart, but he was very strong and big, and Draco was so little… he needed this protection.

-x-


End file.
